Vitali Klitschko to fight Boswell on Lewis card

Klitschko is taking the June 21 fight as part of a deal that will give him a bout against Lewis by the end of the year.

The Ukrainian heavyweight was added to the card after Mike Tyson backed out of a deal to fight Oleg Maskaev. After Tyson refused to sign a contract arranged by his manager, ticket prices for the fight at Staples Center were slashed and the fight was moved from pay-per-view television to HBO.

Klitschko (32-1, 31 knockouts) is the No. 1 contender in the World Boxing Council, and had thought he had a deal to fight Lewis in April. Lewis, however, wanted to fight a rematch against Tyson instead, a fight that now appears unlikely.

As part of a deal to get Klitschko on the card and to stop litigation over whether Lewis owes him a mandatory title defense, Lewis agreed to meet him by December, assuming he beats Johnson.

Boswell is 21-0 with 16 knockouts, but the 33-year-old hasn't fought any top competition. Only nine of his opponents had winning records when he fought them.